Tuesday, February 2, 2010

10 more days folks, just 10 more days until the day we've all been anticipating for. However, as the Games come closer, the more stories are developed about our beautiful city. As of late, Vancouver's poverty-stricken Downtown Eastside is catching the eye of international media in town for the Winter Games. A crush of media, including some foreign camera crews and reporters, showed up Monday in the neighbourhood known as Canada's poorest postal code to hear community groups denounce what they deem a propaganda "spin" centre.

Earlier, B.C. Housing Minister Rich Coleman and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson opened the Downtown Eastside Connect Centre, which they say will give visitors information about the notoriously poor and drug-plagued area in the middle of the Olympic heartland of the city.

Coleman said the centre will show the public and media how government subsidies have made a positive difference in the community. The province subsidizes 7,000 social and supportive housing units a year.

Later that day, several dozen protesters made their way in front of the centre with signs saying a number of slogans like, "Homeless Need Homes," and "No Olympic Social Cleansing." They attracted the attention of the foreign reporters, and now have several world-wide newspapers covering their "side" of the story.

No one can really has the ability to stop them. They may humiliate our City a tad bit, but after the Games are in progress, I'm in no doubt that the press will soon have different types of stories to cover. Every Olympic Host City has been bashed, and had their fair amount of anti-Olympic activists. Once again, just 10 more days until actual Olympic coverage will take place. I'm ready, are you? :)